Rising From the Ashes
by Romanian Bookworm
Summary: Its summer break and Chloe is excited to hang out with her friends! But what's with this new pendant she now has? Does it have special powers? And if so, is it dangerous? Read to find out! R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

**Rising From the Ashes**

**By Romanian Bookworm**

**Hey everyone! This is actually a short story I wrote for my English class this year. I just changed the characters names to fit and edited a bit to include Chloe and Alek a bit more. If you all like it so much I might extend it even further.**

"Now the Triangle Shirtwaist Fires occurred on March 25, 1911 in New York City. It became the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of New York City and..."

'Boring,' was the only way to describe my history class at the moment. It was the middle of March and vacation was about to start in less than five minutes. I loved college but I wanted out!

It's been five years since I United the Mai and almost an entire school year since I've seen Alek, Jasmine, Paul or Amy when we all separated to go to different colleges. Amy and Paul were in New York for fashion design and Criminal Justice. I was rather surprised but then again Paul was my best sidekick in high school. Jasmine is training with the Philadelphia pack to be the new leader of the San Francisco pack. Alek is surprisingly studying to be a lawyer in Texas. Alek studying to defend the bad guys, what irony. I'm the only one who stayed in San Francisco to attend University to be a history teacher. I guess my love for Mai history expanded to all kinds of history, which leads back to my boring history class and me wishing for it to be over. I'm supposed to meet up with the others over vacation and we were planning on being as lazy as possible together.

'No one cares,' I continued to think as my teacher, Ms. Robinson, dragged out her lecture about some fire that happened years ago. Next to me sat my friend Melissa and she looked just as bored, if not more. She quickly looked at Ms. Robinson to see if the coast was clear. When the teacher's back was turned, she quietly ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook and scribbled something on it before she passed it to me. I placed it in my lap where the teacher wouldn't see and read the note. I tried to stifle my laughter at what she wrote but I wasn't as quiet as I hoped to be.

"Miss King! Pay attention!" I quickly looked up from the note to see Ms. Robinson glaring at me from above her half-moon spectacles. She pursed her lips and pointed her gnarly finger at me. "Come here Miss King and bring that note with you!" she commanded. I gulped before sheepishly rising from my seat and walking from the back of the classroom to her desk, with the note clutched in my hand. As I approached, I could feel the stares burning into my back as if condemning me for getting caught. A boney hand reached out and snatched the note from my grip and I became nervous at what Ms. Robinson would do once she read the note.

"Chloe, with the way Ms. Robinson is droning on about this stupid fire, you would think she actually witnessed it! Then again she is old enough lol," Ms. Robinson read out loud. The whole class burst into laughter and I struggled to hold my smile in. Her lips pinched even more in disapproval, if that was even possible and I mentally prepared myself for the lecture I would surely get.

_BRRIIIINNNGGG!_

"Well will you look at that? There's the bell!" I exclaimed, excited to get out of trouble. "So I guess I'll be going, I'm really sorry about everything, I'll see you after vacation and Bye-Bye!" With that, I hurry to my desk, grab my bag and run for the door.

"Not so fast King." Ms. Robinson warns. I stop in my tracks. "We'll discuss this after vacation." I cringe before walking out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Walking through the hall, I laugh with Melissa at the jocks trying to act cool and pick up girls for Spring Break. At my locker, Melissa turns to me with a smirk. "So Chlo, what are you doing this week?"

"I have no idea," I reply, shaking my head. "Probably sleep until noon, party until dawn with my friends. Just be lazy with them. The usual." I laugh.

Melissa laughs at me before pulling out an ornate looking necklace from her oversized shoulder bag. She holds it out for me to take before explaining. "I bought this yesterday at this quirky little shop on the outskirts of town. I thought it looked pretty cool. This one is for you and I have one for myself." She pulled out hers from inside her shirt. "The lady who sold them to me said that on the night of a lunar eclipse during a leap year, the charm turns into a time piece and can transfer the wearer to any time period they want to go to. Of course the chance of a leap year and a lunar eclipse of happening at the same time is like a bazillion to one….not that I believe in it anyway. But it's pretty cool to think about. You know, traveling through time and all."

"How does it work?" I asked. It all seemed like a bunch of mumbo jumbo but ever since I learned about the Mai and me being the Uniter and all, I've learned to never take these 'stories' lightly. I run my finger over the carvings lightly and notice a symbol that looked familiar to me.

"Apparently, on that 'special night', you just have to think of the time period you want to go to and voila! You're there." Melissa, interrupting my train of thought, laughs.

I laugh along with her and throw the necklace around my neck, pushing the symbol to the back of my mind.

"Unfortunately we'll most likely be dead the next time the 'special night' happens. Oh well. Then again if I get a chance to hang out with Jason over vaca…" Melissa turns her head to look at the head of the football team. He sees her looking and nods his head at her. She giggles before turning back to me, "…maybe I will have that special night after all." Melissa winks and starts walking backward towards the student parking lot. "I'll see you in a week. Don't forget! My family is coming down from Canada so we won't be able to hang out that much. Have fun doing…what ever you plan to do." Laughing, she turns around and walks out of the school.

Sighing, I slam my locker shut and make my way towards the bus. My car was in the shop getting a new transmission and oil change. I spent the next half-hour on the bus, fiddling with my new necklace, wondering what to do with my friends when they came home. Arriving at my San Francisco townhouse, I walk straight to my room and collapse on my bed, knowing the others wouldn't be home from school until tomorrow. I grab my history book and turn it to the pages containing information on the factory Ms. Robinson was talking about. Knowing Ms. Robinson she would be assigning an essay after vacation. I quickly grow bored and the words on the page start blurring together.

Sighing, I move so I am lying on my back, staring at the ceiling. I lift up my new necklace to look at it and rub my thumb across the intricate designs inlaid in the pendant.

'Where have I seen this symbol before?' It seemed so familiar to me but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Closing my eyes I think back to the Mai history Valentina told me three years ago. Opening my eyes I sit up. 'There is no way. Why would…?' I had suddenly realized where I had seen the symbol before.

Valentina had once told me about a pendant that when it came into contact with a Mai would cause that Mai to experience a sacrifice that a fellow Mai had experienced in the past. This sacrifice would supposedly affect the present Mai in the long run.

'Maybe I shouldn't be holding this right now.' I quickly toss the pendant away from me and it lands on the foot of my bed. I plop onto my back and wiggle around a bit before finding a comfortable position. I slowly drift off to sleep, dreaming of Alek and his strong arms wrapped around me in a warm hug.


	2. Chapter 2

**Since the story is pretty much written and it just needs some editing, I decided to upload the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

"Anichka! Anichka! You have to wake up or we'll both be late!" A thick brogue accent wakes me from my dreams and the sight I encounter as I open my eyes startles me.

Leaning over me is a girl about my age with curly blonde hair and bright green eyes that shine with relief even in the dim darkness that surrounds us.

"Thank God!" she exclaims. "I was afraid you would never wake up. You must have had a pretty nice dream, huh?" she asks.

"Uh…I guess?" I answer unsure. "Um…I know this is going to sound weird but…where am I exactly?" I definitely was not in my bedroom.

The girl laughs at me, startled. "We're in the boarding house silly! Where do you think we are?" she asks.

"My bedroom." I answer. 'Somewhere I wish I was right now, not….here. Wherever here is.' I think to myself.

"Miss home don't you sweet?" she asks sympathetically.

Before I have the chance to answer, another girl yells at us to hurry up. I look around us, startled and notice the room is full of girls beyond the room's capacity. Ever girl is rushing to get ready and it is so crowded they are stumbling over each other.

"Well, come on then! Better get ready!" the girl tells me.

I quickly grab her wrist before she can walk off. "Wait! What's your name? I seemed to have forgotten." I tell her sheepishly.

She laughs and replies, "Rebecca, but you usually call me Becca." Interesting because I don't remember calling her that before…ever.

She pats my knee and walks off, leaving me to figure out just where I was. Judging by the clothes everyone was wearing, it had to be the early 20th century. Someone bumps me from behind in their rush and I decide the only way to find out where and when I was, I better get dressed and blend in.

'When in Rome,' I think.

After about ten minutes of staring at the clothes I found in a case under my bed, I toss away the numerous undergarments and just put on the main dress with my usual underwear on underneath. If I remember correctly, the usual clothes of the early 20th century were extremely heavy and I didn't want to be wearing twenty pounds of clothing in the middle of March. After dressing, I look into a nearby mirror and I don't see the girl I see every morning getting ready for school. Instead of my usual curly blonde hair and blue-grey eyes, I suddenly have straight brown hair and green eyes. My brown hair is tied up in a bun and a simple hairpin holds the loose strands back. Rummaging through the case I find a simple pair of brown flats that were surprisingly comfortable once I put them on.

A bell suddenly rings and all the girls start heading for the door. Becca hurries over to me, hands me a warm bread role with butter and gently takes my arm, leading the way. I glance behind, hoping to get one more look at the girl that is not me and yet at the same time is. I could already feel a headache coming on.

As we are leaving, I happen to get a glance at the clock on the nearby wall. '6:00 in the morning! What the heck is going on?' I wonder. I am suddenly scared of what awaits me beyond this boarding house. I wish Alek or Jasmine were here. Heck, i'd even take Paul!

I take a bite of the roll and discover its stale. I instantly spit it out and toss it in the trash bin.

While walking down the street and amidst the chatter of girls, I notice certain aspect of the city we are apparently in. All of us, me included unfortunately, are headed in the same direction, which seems to be the heart of the city. I suddenly notice a man walking down the street who drops what seems to be a newspaper into the trash. As we are walking by the trashcan, I reach in and pull out the newspaper.

_**New York Times March 25, 1911**_

Both the date and name of the newspaper are labeled at the top. I grow numb with shock.

'How did I get here?' I am starting to freak out right now. 'This has to be a dream.' I close my eyes and pinch myself but nothing happens; I am still walking down the sidewalk with a group of girls headed in the same direction.

'The necklace!' I suddenly realize. 'I had been studying history and then I shoved that aside and started playing with my necklace. That was the last thing I remember before falling asleep….that and the story behind the necklace. Uh oh.' I quickly pull the necklace out and stare at it. I guess the necklace really did work. 'Oh boy. This is not good.'

A shadow looms over me and I look up to see we have arrived at our destination. Right there in big bold letters the name _Triangle Shirtwaist Factory_ sticks out like a sore thumb and I am stricken with terror. I look down at the newspaper again and zoom in on the date.

'March 25, 1911. The day that the….factory…fire…happened….

**not as long as the last chapter but only b/c I'm cutting the original piece into smaller pieces & I'm cutting where I think they work best. I hope you like the story so far! R&R please!**

**Thanks!**

**-RB **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Your reviews are great so far so I decided to upload some more of the story. But first I'll answer some questions brought up in the reviews. I don't necessarily have an estimate on how long the story will be b/c like I mentioned, I'm cutting the original up into pieces where I think they work. So it's probably going to be a 5 or 6 chapter story, leaning more towards 5. As to whether it will be a Chalek story, sadly no, but I will mention Alek occasionally like in Chloe's thoughts etc. Enjoy!**

This can't be happening! I shouldn't be here. I was born in 1992. I have a mother that loves me and amazing friends that are not home yet to wake me from this nightmare. The one time I actually wish Alek would be watching me is now. I guess Melissa was wrong about the likelihood of having a leap year and lunar eclipse at the same time. This just goes to show not to accept strange gifts from people.

Now I was scared, very, very scared. With Becca tugging on my arm and girls pushing me from behind, I willed myself to move. My terror increased as the distance between the building and me decreased. Before I knew it, I passed the threshold of my fate.

I turned to Becca and told her, "I don't want to be here. I really, really don't want to be here!"

"Now there's nothing to be afraid of," she reassured me. "It's the same building we have all been working in for months." She wrapped her arm around my shoulders as we started ascending the staircase leading to the upper floors. "Now come on love, we're going to go up to the eighth floor and you are going to finish all those beautiful shirts you started yesterday."

"The eighth floor?" I nervously asked.

She looks at me with concern. "That's right. Are you sure you're ok? Do you need to go back to the boarding house and lay down? You haven't been acting like you're usual self."

"I…I'm fine, thank you." I just needed to get my head around everything. Becca had said the eighth floor. 'Wasn't the eighth floor where,' I gulp, 'the fire started? Oh boy…'

The door to the sewing room on the eighth floor came into view. I mentally prepared myself and walked into the cramped and crowded room. There were eight long tables, each of different lengths, lined up next to each other. There was barely four feet between each table with little to no room to move between the tables once everyone would be sitting down. I could see a small fire escape through one of the windows and two elevators across the room. Girls swarmed in and out of the coatroom before getting to work. I walked around in a daze, wondering what I should do. The only sewing I had ever done was making a pillow for my mom for her birthday in home economics three years ago, and lets just say that ended miserably.

Someone tugged on my sleeve and I looked down to see a girl who looked about thirteen with big brown eyes. "Miss. Anichka, will you help me fix one of my stitching? You said yesterday you would." She informs me.

"Uh…sure sweetie, maybe later if I have time." I reply. What was I suppose to say? She thought I was someone who could actually sew.

"But right now I need to go to the bathroom…wherever that is," I mumble the last part. I could already tell the small bite of my stale breakfast was not going to stay in my stomach for much longer.

The girl giggles and points at something behind me. "It's right next to the coat room silly."

"Oh. Well, why don't you find someone else who can help you with your stitching until I'm free? How does that sound?" I ask. The girl giggles again before skipping away towards one of the older women. I shake my head good naturally before rushing for the bathroom.

I just make it to the bathroom and lock myself in before I am emptying my stomach into the toilet. When I am done, I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and wash my mouth with water from the sink. I splash some more water on my face before looking into the little cracked mirror hanging on the wall above the sink.

'Ok, think Chloe. You're trapped in 1911 in another girl's body, someone who just so happens to work at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory that encountered a devastating fire…today. So what are you going to do? You can't just waltz back into the room and announce to everyone you're from the future and we're all going to die in a fire today! They'll throw you into the loony bin faster than you can yell 'fire'!'

I start pacing the little bathroom while trying to figure out what to do and how to get back to where I belong in the 21st century. If Alek were here, he would have told me to stop worrying so much. I was Mai and he trained me how to handle complicated situations. 'Although he probably didn't have this kind of situation in mind.'

I stop my pacing as an idea pops into my head.

'That's it! If I remember correctly, Ms. Robinson said the fire was supposedly started by a match being thrown into a basket of waste cloth on the eighth floor! I'm ON the eighth floor! I can just watch out for anyone who's smoking and drops her cigarette into the waste bin without properly putting it out. When I see that happen, I can hurry over and put the cigarette out before any real damage can be done! As long as the fire is put out, everything will be fine! I just have to survive early 20th century factory work until 4:45, which I believe is when the fire supposedly started." I decide. "I just hope I can survive until then." Taking a deep breath, I nod my head in determination and exit the bathroom.

All the other girls are already working at the sewing machines. The hum of the machines and the low chatter of the girls filled the room. Amidst the noise I could hear Becca calling my name, well…my 20th century name.

"Anichka! Over here! Come on, we have to get to work!" Spotting Becca at one of the tables, I hurry over and squeeze in between her and another girl. Both girls turn to me and smile before getting back to their sewing. Strangely, the other girl looks a little like Amy. Possibly a relative? I decide not to go into it; my head was hurting enough as it was, not to mention I was now starving from throwing up my 'breakfast', if you could even call it that. Even though I had no idea what I was doing or what I was supposed to be doing, I followed the girls' lead by picking up a threaded needle and cloth and got to work.

Twenty pinpricks and five bloodstains later, I throw the fabric and needle down in exasperations. "I'm done!" I declare. "I'm not a seamstress and clearly the fates have it out for me. Why else would I wake up smack dab in the middle of…" I trail off after seeing the strange looks the other women in the room are giving me. "Ok never mind, forget I said anything." I laugh sheepishly.

Releasing a sigh, I glance at the clock and notice it's almost lunchtime. It was already quarter of one. 'Wow, I guess time flies by when pricking your fingers.' I can't help but think.

Just as I finish my thought, a bell rings throughout the building, signaling it was break time. Everyone gets up at once, eager to fill their stomach and all I can do is hope for something better than the stale roll I was given for breakfast. I find myself standing next to a woman who looks to be in her early thirties. "So…where do we get lunch?" I ask her.

She looks at me strangely but replies anyway. "Down in the lunch room of course."

"And what will we be eating exactly?" I am curious to know what I'll be eating. After all, 2oth century food is probably a lot different from 21st century food.

"Beans and cabbage with prunes for dessert." She informs me. "The same we have everyday."

I visibly shutter but with nowhere else to go, I follow the crowd.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When a plate was placed in front of me at one of the lunchroom tables, the smell alone made me want to barf. My enhanced senses were not my friend today. I took one look at my plate and instantly pushed it away from me.

"Not hungry Anichka?" one of the girls at the table asks me. I shake my head and leave the table, choosing to stand at the window and catch a glimpse of the city. It's hard to believe that in only four hours, this place would be engulfed in flames.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey hey hey! Glad you guys find this story interesting & I never did realize before how many stories there are similar to this, time travel I mean. There really aren't that many! Anyway, enjoy this new chapter! **

**P.S. Some of the events & facts used in this chapter occurred in real life in the real Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. Yes it REALLY did happen. I studied it in school and researched it a little more for the story.**

The next hour is spent with me staring out the window with the chatter of girls and clanking of silverware behind me.

'Its amazing how their life can seem so simple. Wake up, go to work, eat, go to sleep and do it all again the next day. And they have no idea their lives are about to end. If only I could do more for them, actually warn them…but I can't.' I realize sadly.

A tear slips out and falls onto the windowsill. I quickly wipe my eyes before anyone notices.

At that moment, the bell warning us to get back to work rings. I look at the clock before leaving the lunchroom. 'Only three hours left.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yet again I am sitting at the worktable with no idea what I am doing. All the shirts I am supposed to be making are not being sewn together properly. One arm is longer than the other and the stitches are all uneven. 'I really wish I had an aspirin right now.'

"Here let me help you," Becca offers. I smile at her in gratitude as she takes the cloths from me. She slowly starts 'reminding' me how to sew. It takes a while, a lot of questions and a number of pricked fingers before I finally understand how to do it. She waits until I finish an entire sleeve perfectly before smiling and getting back to her own sewing.

"So why are you having so much trouble today Anichka? You're usually one of the best sewers in the factory." Becca claims.

"I guess I'm having an off day?" I answer, unsure if they would believe me. But surprisingly enough they do. We spend the next few hours talking about the latest gossip, latest fashions and the cute guy who works three floors below us. Well, they talked and I listened. I couldn't really talk about those kinds of things when I had no clue what was going on. But I was fascinated by the conversation and wished Melissa or Amy were here, they would love this conversation. Pretty soon the noise in the room grew as it started getting closer to the time to go back to the boarding house. At the increase in noise, I whip my head around and stare at the clock.

"Its 4:37!" I felt so stupid to have been so distracted. I start scanning the room to see if anyone was smoking. Over in the corner of the room, I see one girl chatting with friends and smoking a cigarette. All of a sudden, she finishes the cigarette, stamps it out and throws it into the waste bucket.

"Of course it is silly! We'll be getting off of work any minute now and…" before one of the girls has a chance to finish, I jump up from my seat and hurry over to the trash bin. I grab the cigarette and toss it into a nearby bucket filled with water.

"Phew! That was close." I turn back around to see all the girls in the room staring at me.

"What? It's a fire hazard you know!" I warn them. "You can never be too careful."

The entire table stares at me as I sit back down. "What? I told you a person could never be too careful!"

"No, its not that," someone tells me. "You possibly just saved our lives! Do you know how fast cloth like this goes up in flames?" they ask me, holding up a piece of cloth. I shake my head 'no'. "It goes up fast. Real fast." Another girl warns me. "And that girl that was smoking is one of the meanest girls here, Olga. She thinks she's better than everyone else and smokes whenever she wants to even though its not allowed."

I nod my head in understanding. "That makes sense. I think I'm going to go to the bathroom again before we leave. I'm kind of afraid to try and use the bathroom at the boarding house with all the girls sharing that one room."

Walking away I hear several girls laughing at my attempt at a joke. Walking out of the bathroom five minutes later, I glance at the clock to see its exactly quarter of five.

'Quarter of and no fire in sight.' I conclude. 'Mission accomplished.'

Turning away from the clock, I see the same girl from before, Olga, smoking another cigarette in the same corner she was smoking in before. She tosses the burnt out cigarette into the same waste bin. "Wait! No!" I yell at her.

She glares at me and opens her mouth to argue but before she has the chance, the wastebasket bursts into flames and the flames start licking at the cloth hanging over the bucket. I rush for the water bucket but it's too late. The flames are already climbing further up the cloth. I faintly hear someone yell, "Fire!" but I am too absorbed in the fact I failed in my mission to save everyone that I didn't even notice.

Soon everyone is screaming and running for the doors but the doors are locked from the outside. Girls start trampling each other in an effort to break down the door but all attempts seemed to fail. Becca grabs my arm and pulls me towards the elevators. Other girls join the two of us, each of us pulling at the doors of the elevator but to no avail. All of us start pounding on the doors and screaming until our throats run dry. I can hear the cries and pleas of the other girls begging for salvation. Above the roaring of the fire and the screaming of the girls I manage to yell at Becca. "Why won't the elevators open?"

Somehow she manages to hear me and her tear streaked face turns toward mine. "Because the elevators are locked with a key so none of the girls can leave to have a break. The only ones with the keys to open the doors are the foreman and elevator operators. Unless they can get the elevators to work with this fire growing, we're all trapped." She tells me with tears streaming down her face like a river.

I grasp her wrist and lean in close. "I will get you out of this. You will survive! Do you understand me?" I demand. She tearfully nods and sniffles. "Come one," I tell her. "Follow me." With her hand clutched tightly in mine, I lead her to one of the windows farthest away from the flames. "Here, try to take some air in and relax. It won't do you any good if you're all excited."

More screaming fills the air, this time from outside. Both Becca and I look out the window and see women falling from the upper floors. The nearby fire escape soon collapses due to too much weight on it. There were too many trying to escape that way. Becca screams and clutches me close. Her body is rigid in shock and terror. I clutch her closer to me, offering as much comfort as possible in a situation like this. A screeching noise fills the room and I turn to see one of the elevators rising from the lower levels.

"Becca!" I shake her to get her to look up. When she finally does, I point to the rising elevator and her face fills with hope. "Look! You can finally get out of here! Come on!"

I pull her to the machine and shove her in as soon as the doors open. "Quick! Before there's no more room!" I turn away but Becca grabs my arm.

"Where are you going?" she asks me desperately. Her nails dig into my forearm and I know I will have some scratch marks later. "You need to get out of here too!"

"I will, but I need to help the others. I promise I'll be fine." I tell her. I turn away and run off before she can say anything and I know it will be the last time I see her.

Shaking my head of the thought, I hurry over to help some of the other girls.

Unfortunately I only have the chance to save a few more before I feel the flames licking at my feet. I can feel the heat scorching my flesh and the smell of fire and burning flesh permeates the air. The smoke inhalation causes me to collapse to the ground.

Bright lights flash before my eyes and I can feel the wind whipping through my hair. Colors start zooming around me until I'm in a kind of vortex. The colors start merging together and forming pictures and I struggle to comprehend them through my labored breathing. I see a small village engulfed in flames and smoke with people screaming for loved ones trapped in the fire.

The next scene is of a young blonde woman on her back with her legs up in the air screaming. This time instead I'm viewing this scene from someone else's' point of view. Its not until a second wail hits my ears that I realize she just gave birth to a child and I'm currently holding that child. I look down to see the baby with a red face from crying so hard cradled in my arms. 'Its…me,' I realize, shocked. I look back up to the woman, who is now panting. 'My mother?' The woman looks at me and orders me to hide the baby where she will be safe. The vision burrs and my mother's voice haunts me, 'Keep her safe, you must hide her. Please!'

I see my dad finding me in the orphanage and taking me home to San Francisco where I grow up to be Chloe King. The rest of the visions are of me growing up with my friends and family. I see my mom and I opening presents on Christmas morning and my dad pushing me on the swings with me begging to go higher. I see Alek and Jasmine as they train me to fight and then helping me unite the Mai and humans. Amy is helping me pick out a date outfit and Paul is asking me more Mai trivia. Lastly I see me in a white summer dress with flowers in my hair with a little blonde haired girl holding my hand, Alek by our sides. I am happy in this image and I know my life will only get better after this. This vision was of the future, a future I wanted so badly.

The colors start fading to grey and then black as my normal vision returns. I'm left with a sense of helplessness and wonder at the events that just unfolded.

'What was that all about?' I wonder, fear at the edges of my mind. There's not enough time to ponder the visions before I feel the fire slowly crawling up my body. I'm too numb with shock and pain to do anything except reach up to the necklace around my neck. I start rubbing my thumb along the charm wishing I were back home in bed with Alek's arms around me, telling me everything would be alright. I wanted to be anywhere but here.

'At least Becca is safe. At least I tried to stop this horrendous event. That's all I can be thankful for,' is my last thought before darkness consumes me.

**Ta da! My longest chapter yet! I hope you all liked it! Let me know what you think! R&R please! **

**Thanks!**

**-RB**


	5. Chapter 5

**FINAL CHAPTER! Woohoo! I'm glad you all enjoyed the story so far! I hope you enjoy this last chapter! I'll be going into surgery this Tuesday so I'm glad I managed to upload a new story cause who knows when my next story will be uploaded.**

Gasping with breath, I sit up and find myself in the middle of an empty room. The walls are all white with areas roped off and barrels are lined up against the wall. No one else is in the room with me and my labored breathing is the only sound that fills the room. I slowly stand up, cautious of my surroundings, the necklace still swinging around my neck. There's a single door with a plague on a stand standing in front of the door. I walk over and read the plaque's inscription.

"_This room is dedicated to those 146 lives lost on March 25, 1911 in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire…." _I trailed off, not needing to read on. I already new what was going on.

'So I fell asleep in my bed, woke up in Anichka's bed, went to her job, had some funky vision, died while in her body, in this room, and woke up in this room in my real body…'

"Is anyone else around here confused?" I ask the empty room. So the necklace did work. But how did I get here? How did my physical body get from San Francisco to New York?

Realizing it could wait, I rushed out the door and out of the building. I needed to get home before anyone discovered I was missing. 'Well I guess that fixed my problem of having a too boring of a vacation.' I quickly hailed a cab and climbed in, telling the driver to head to the airport. Thankfully I had enough money saved up in my emergency account to get home. Even luckier for me I would be home before ten tonight, an hour before my mom was due home from her dinner meeting.

A few hours later I'm landing at the San Francisco airport and rushing outside for taxi, shoving poor innocent pedestrians out of the way. After about 15 minutes of waving frantically for a taxi and swearing at the drivers that don't pull over, I'm climbing into the backseat of one and giving a driver my address. Once arriving home, I climbed out and started paying the driver with money I fortunately found in my pocket. He accepted the money with a strange look on his face.

"Didn't I give you a ride to the airport a few hours ago?" He asks me. "Except you had a very dazed expression on your face. I thought you were on drugs."

Not knowing how to respond, I thanked the driver and rushed to the front door of my house.

Just as I rushed into my room and plopped on my bed, I heard the slamming of the front door and my mom calling out for me. The stomping of boots resounded through the foyer alerting me that Alek and the others were here as well. Mom must have picked them up at the airport on her way home. I throw the medallion into the far corner of my room before leaving, secretly deciding not to tell them about my…experience.

'They'll probably send me to a therapist,' I think with a chuckle. As I am walking out the door, I write myself a mental note to bury the necklace in a safe in the backyard in a very, very deep hole.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

During the week, I gathered up all my courage and told Valentina and the others what the necklace had done. She seemed shocked at first but she then shocked me by telling me about a prophetess named Anichka that had prophesized the coming of the Uniter. Although she was not Mai, she was well known in the Mai world. She had supposedly survived a terrible fire that was supposed to have killed her and during her recovery, she started rambling on about a baby who was destined to unite the world. Numerous Mai leaders around the world determined that she had seen a vision of the Uniter coming soon within the next 100 years but unfortunately it was not told who it would be or where. Lets just say I was…shocked. Yea, shocked is a good word.

Alek and the others portrayed the same emotion. Jasmine couldn't stop staring at me and Amy was crying into Paul's shoulder.

Alek wouldn't stop hugging me to his side and kissing the side of my head. I could vaguely hear him mumble things like 'safe' and 'wasn't there'. I could only hug him back to reassure him I was there for him and wasn't about to leave him anytime soon.

A week later, I was back in my college history class with Ms. Robinson asking if anyone knows the reasons why all attempts to escape the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire failed. I instantly raise my hand.

"Miss. King," she calls on me, with a shocked yet happy look on her face.

"Well, the rooms were crowded so everyone was trying to leave at once and got trampled. Secondly, all the doors and elevators were locked so no one could leave that way. The fire escape was also not up to regulations so the combined weight of all the girls caused it to collapse. The last reason is the firefighter's ladder could only reach as far as the sixth floor, thirty feet short of the women on the upper floors. Due to all this, many chose to jump rather than be burned alive," I finish.

Ms. Robinson nods at me, impressed. "Well done Miss. King." Melissa turns to me and gives me thumbs up and a big smile.

I smile and continue taking notes.

That day Ms. Robinson gave us all an assignment to write an essay about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. A week later, she placed mine back on my desk with a smile; I received an A+.

I guess History class is not all that bad.

**I hope you all enjoyed it! Keep on the look out for my new stories in the future and my stories currently in the process of being finished. R&R please!**

**Thanks!**

**-RB**


End file.
